Gideon58's Reviews

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The Mask
A charismatic star turn by Jim Carrey and some spectacular Oscar-nominated visual effects are the primary selling points of a now minor classic from 1994 called The Mask, an energetic comic fantasy that still provides some surprisingly solid laughs after 26 years.

Carrey plays Stanley Ipkiss, a mild-mannered bank teller whose entire life redefines the term Murphy's Law. After what was pretty much the worst day of his life, Ipkiss finds a mask that turns him into a green-faced, zoot-suited, superhero with myriad powers who ends up getting involved with some very dangerous criminals when he foils their bank robbery. He also finds himself involved with two very different women: A sexpot nightclub singer named Tina (Cameron Diaz) and a lady reporter named Peggy (Amy Yasbeck).

Just put your brain in check and fasten in for one of the wildest cinematic rides that just throws all the rules of moviemaking out the window for the sake of pure, non-think entertainment that moves at a breakneck pace never giving the viewer a chance to breathe. The screenplay by Mike Webb is clever and detail-oriented without being overly complex, doesn't take too much time with exposition, and as fun as it is, never allows us to forget it's a movie thanks to some dazzling special effects utilized to bring this mask to life that completely defy realism.

There's just one little plot point I really had trouble getting past. After his first two episodes wearing the mask, Stanley decides to seek advice from a writer (Ben Stein), who has just written a book about masks and when he offers to demonstrate what the mask does, this is the one point in the whole story where the mask doesn't work, even though three different characters get to use it. It was convenient to make Stanley look nuts, but it made no sense that the mask would not work this one time.

The film is rich with visual effects and animation that provide consistent entertainment that work in perfect tandem with Jim Carrey's boundless energy and his expertise with celebrity impressions. As much as I loved Carrey's insanity as the Mask, I enjoyed his socially inept Stanley Ipkiss much more. Cameron Diaz is sex on legs as Tina, who turns out to be quite a different movie heroine. Also enjoyed Peter Reigert as a stone-faced police detective and Peter Greene as the bad guy Dorian. If Greene looks familiar, you might remember him as Zed in the classic Pulp Fiction. And let's not forget that great little dog, Milo. If you're looking for realism, find another movie, but if you just want some easy laughs, belly up.



Machete
After my recent viewing of the documentary Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo, I decided I had to watch Machete, a relentlessly bloody, slam-bang action epic from 2010 that provides the kind of action that fans of the genre clamor for in large unapologetic doses and had this reviewer laughing, cheering, and, at times, closing my dropped jaw.

In 2007, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino directed Grindhouse, an affectionate valentine to the B-movie, double feature drive in film experiences of the 50's and 60's. As part of that film, Rodriguez mounted a trailer for an imaginary film to be shown between the two features called Machete starring Danny Trejo. The trailer attracted so much attention that moviegoers thought the movie was real and the demand was so overwhelming, that Rodriguez, Ethan Maniquis, and Alvaro Rodriguez actually created a movie based on the trailer.

Trejo plays the title character, a day laborer who works near the Mexican border, who is hired by a political aide and drug dealer named Booth (Jeff Fahey) to assassinate a United States Senator (Oscar winner Robert De Niro), but the hit fails, sending Machete on the run while trying to get vengeance on Booth and clear his own name. Other pertinent players in the story include a taco stand vendor/vigilante (Michelle Rodriguez), Machete's priest brother (Cheech Marin), a crooked border patrol agent (Don Johnson) and Booth's drug dealing kingpin boss (Steven Seagal).

Don't try to figure it out and don't try to figure out who's who, just strap yourself in and enjoy this slam-bang action comedy that features one of the most staggering body counts I have ever seen in an action film. I think there were close to two dozen deaths in the first ten minutes of the film. The damage that Machete did with the aid of his namesake was staggering, not to mention his skill with a weed wacker. This Machete is such a badass that there is a hilarious moment where he confronts a gunman and the guy just says, "I give", hands Machete his gun, and walks away.

Rodriguez, the creative force behind the cult classic From Dusk Til Dawn puts his very creative and imaginative hand all over this one, thrusting into the big movie world of action adventure that is almost a thing of the past. The opening credits even feature those scratch marks that we see in older films, properly setting the same B-movie atmosphere he did in Grindhouse.

Trejo is perfection as the title character, a man of few words but incites danger in every move he makes and gets solid support from Fahey, brilliant as the evil and twisted Booth and De Niro in a deliciously over the top turn as the obnoxious senator. Had a little trouble buying Jessica Alba as an immigration agent who works in stiletto heels, but a minor problem in a violent and dazzling action comedy that delivers the goods. Followed by Machete Kills and Machete Kills in Space.



Johnny Suede
The same year he stole the few scenes he had in Best Picture nominee Thelma and Louise, Brad Pitt also played the lead in a forgettable comic character study called Johnny Suede, which suffers from an all over the place screenplay rich with pretentious symbolism and a totally moronic central character whose only redeeming quality is that he looks like Brad Pitt.

This 1991 oddity features Pitt as Johnny, an aspiring musician who sports a huge pompadour, idolizes Ricky Nelson, and is dumb as box of rocks. He claims that he wants to become a rock star but doesn't put a lot of work into it, or anything else for that matter. The viewer watches Johnny aimlessly drifting through his life while getting involved (sort of) with three very different women.

I'm not really sure what director/screenwriter Tom DiCillo was going for here. The opening dream sequences of Johnny commanding a stage in front of a bunch of screaming girls after finding the right pair of black suede shoes is fun, but then the story degenerates into the real Johnny, an amateur musician with only a modicum of talent but in complete denial about it. The haphazard attempts to make something happen with his band are laughable as are the big dreams of him and his BFF Deke (Calvin Levels). Their conversations reminded me of two guys who sit around smoking pot, coming up with all these incredible ideas for making their lives better, but not really executing any of them.

The most interesting aspect of the film is Johnny's relationship with a vivacious bohemian named Yvonne, beautifully played by Catherine Keener, who inexplicably falls in love with the guy but eventually pays the price for it. The funniest scene in the film is when Johnny and Deke are listing the pros and cons of him actually moving in with Yvonne.

DiCillo has supplied this moronic character with a vivid imagination, which allows DiCillo to stage some startling and nonsensical dream sequences that come out of nowhere and end way too abruptly, not to mention some odd symbolism that is never really explained, primarily a panel of glass that keeps shattering at different parts of the movie for a reason I couldn't fathom.

Pitt has rarely been prettier and works very hard at making the title character likable, but he really has his work cut out for him here. Keener is always watchable and there is even a brief appearance by Samuel L Jackson as one of the members of Johnny's band, but this movie is, for the most part, pointless, and snore-inducing. Can't believe this was the same year Pitt was so fabulous in Thelma and Louise.



The Odd Couple II
Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, and Neil Simon reunited after 30 years for The Odd Couple II, a silly, embarrassing, and unnecessary sequel to the 1968 classic that proves the Lemmon/Matthau chemistry still had a spark, but not enough to make this snore-fest worth sitting through.

As the film opens, we find Matthau's Oscar in a Florida retirement community still playing poker (though some of his poker players are female this time around) when he gets a phone call from his son (Jonathan Silverman) that he's getting married and wants his dad to come to California for the wedding. Of course, Oscar is shell-shocked when he learns his son is marrying Hannah Unger (Lisa Waltz), the daughter of his former roommate, Felix Unger (Lemmon), the neat freak he threw out of his apartment thirty years ago and hasn't seen in 17 years.

It's hard saying this now since Lemmon, Matthau, and Simon are all gone now, but this sadly desperate attempt to continue a story that really had nowhere else to go was just painful to watch. If you can get past the contrivance of Oscar's son meeting and falling in love with Felix's daughter, it's nearly impossible to get past the outrageous physical comedy that takes place during the course of this ridiculous road trip that both of these actors were clearly too old for.

Simon still proves to have an affinity for the one-liner and director Howard Deutch (Pretty in Pink) shows a flair for staging slapstick comedy, but this is the kind of story that just didn't work for actors as "mature" as Lemmon and Matthau were at this time. Matthau, in particular, looks so frail and unhealthy in this film, it seems like a minor miracle that he was able to complete the film. Those familiar with the original film will also notice Simon's half-assed rehashing of scenes from the original film, like the poker paying opening, Felix trying to clear his sinuses in the middle of a crowded restaurant and even a rehashing of their date with the Peigon Sisters, who have now become a pair of biker babes, played by Christine Baranski and Jean Smart.

Lemmon and Matthau work as hard as they can to make this mess viable entertainment, but it's obvious they know how lame the material is as well. Baranski and Smart are very funny, as are Alice Ghostley, Florence Stanley, and Rebecca Schull as Oscar's poker playing buddies, but they aren't enough to keep this film watchable. Lemmon and Matthau deserved better than this.



Heathers
Long before Tine Fey created Mean Girls, movie audiences were introduced to Heathers, a dark and mean-spirited black comedy that takes an on-target, if often unflattering, look at the war for high school popularity, but gets a lot uglier than the viewer expects it to.

Veronica is an intelligent and vivacious high school student who wants to change her good girl image by becoming part of the school's #1 clique, the Heathers, a bitchy trio of girls, who all happen to be named Heather, who rule the school with vicious pranks and a general disdain of the entire student body. Veronica has had enough of the Heathers, but feels trapped until she meets a moody young James Dean-type, appropriately named JD, who actually convinces Veronica that the only way to get away from the Heathers is to rid the school of them...permanently.

Screenwriter Daniel Waters (Batman Returns) has crafted a multi-layered story that starts off as a bitingly funny look at what teenagers go through in high school for the sake of popularity, but sends some really squirm-worthy messages along the way. There is a degree of discomfort with any story that suggests that murder is a way out of being ostracized in high school. The way that JD seems to enjoy what he and Veronica are doing and the way Veronica is so easily manipulated by him are also squirm-worthy. On the other hand, there's no denying that Water's dialogue is surprisingly smart and funny. Love the scene where Veronica and JD are constructing Heather's suicide note.

The other troublesome element of this story is actually rooted in the film's backstory. It's never made clear why it's so important to Veronica to be part of The Heathers. From their first moments onscreen together, it is clear that Veronica is morally repulsed by everything that the Heathers stand for, but for some reason doesn't hesitate to do their bidding. Nothing that happens in the course of this story would have happened if Veronica had just walked away from the Heathers and we're never really told why she doesn't.

All this in mind, the movie still provides uneasy entertainment, mounted with care by director Michael Lehrman and a pair of terrific movie-star performances by Winona Ryder as Veronica and Christian Slater as JD. Film editing and art direction are to be applauded as well and aid making this film viable, if slightly troubling entertainment. Re-thought as a TV series in 2018.



Heathers
Screenwriter Daniel Waters (Batman Returns)
Heathers is one of my favourite movies as is Batman Returns. Interesting to know they have the same screenwriter.



Predator
The action and horror genres blend to startling effect in 1987's Predator an eye-popping action thriller that may not answer all of the questions it poses, but it does keep the viewer on the edge of their seat with a story that provides tons of action for the action fans and huge doses of Hitchcock-like suspense for the horror fans.

Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Dutch, a special ops soldier who is asked to assist CIA operative Al Dillon (Carl Weathers) in a rescue mission involving a downed helicopter in the jungles of South America. Dutch and Dillon learn they have been sent there under false pretenses, but this is the least of their problems as they and their team find the real danger in their mission is coming from a seemingly invisible creature not of this world.

Screenwriters Jim and Jon Thomas really score here with a story that starts off as your typical action film and moves into a direction we don't see coming at all. They are also to be applauded for not playing all their cards at once. This creature that is wreaking havoc on a seemingly ordinary military mission is only seen through the eyes of the viewer for almost two thirds of the film. Unerring suspense is created as we wait and wonder when the troops are going to be privy to what we've been privy to. It's so smart that the first visualization of this creature is mere shadowy outlines that reminded me of the "liquid metal" in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

This larger than life adventure is given a real human touch as we see each soldier's individual encounter with this creature and their complete inability to describe what they're dealing with. They don't know exactly what they're dealing with but it's terrifying and a little heartbreaking when they realize the fight is futile, though they give it their best shot trying to fight what is basically an invisible enemy...a monstrous, terrifying invisible enemy.

Fortunately, this fusing of two movie genres was put in the hands of a capable director. John McTiernan, who directed the best action movie ever (Die Hard) not only provides eye popping action sequences with the aid of an Oscar nominated visual effects team, but creates quiet moments of nail-biting suspense waiting for this creature to strike that rivals some of Hitchcock and DePalma's best work. Alan Silvestri's appropriately jumpy music was the perfect frame for an out of this world adventure that had me holding my breath and jumping out of my seat. Remade in 2017.



Dope (2015)
Despite a slightly confusing screenplay, the 2015 comedy Dope is an undeniably stylish re-thinking of the teen angst comedies of the 80's and 90's that provides solid entertainment as long as the viewer remembers that they're watching a movie and nothing that happens here would ever happen in real life.

Set in "The Bottoms", a turbulent neighborhood in contemporary Inglewood, California, this is the story of Malcolm, a geeky and intelligent high school student who loves MTV Raps and Will Smith. Malcolm finds his life turned upside down when he and his BFFs Diggy and Jib get invited to an underground party where a violent gun battle breaks out. The next morning, Malcolm finds a large cache of drugs and a gun in his backpack which was left behind the bar.

Director and screenwriter Rick Famuyiwa has mounted an intelligent and winning story that is based on reality but the reality of Malcolm's predicament is only the blueprint for a truly unconventional cinematic trip that makes jarring and unexpected jumps from fantasy to reality and based them around a completely likable central character, whose brains and sensitivity bring to mind movie characters like Ferris Bueller and Farmer Ted in Sixteen Candles, but because he's black, the character evokes more empathy from the viewer than those white movie kids from the 80's.

Despite the likability of this central character, this film goes in so many outrageous directions that it's hard to accept that what happens to Malcolm could actually happen in real life. To be more specific, Malcolm really shouldn't have come out of this story in one piece. This is one of those movies that requires the viewer to put their brain in check and just let the events of the story roll over them. This is also one of the few films I have seen where I really enjoyed the narration...smart, funny, non-intrusive and helped to fill in story holes and speed exposition. I liked the way Famuyiwa's story would move to a certain point where questions arise for the viewer, and then go back and explain them.

The film features some imaginative camerawork and solid editing that greatly assist in the acceptance of the fantasy elements of the story, some of which we don't realize are fantasy until they are over. Shameik Moore, who three years later would provide the voice of Miles in Spider Man: Into the Spider Verse gives a star-making performance as Malcolm and Tony Revelori, so wonderful as the bell boy in The Grand Budapest Hotel is terrific as Jib. The film requires complete attention, which doesn't always completely pay off, but I found myself really caring about this kid Malcolm, which seemed to be the primary purpose of this offbeat comedy.



Bob Roberts
The insanity of the 2020 presidential election motivated me to check out Bob Roberts, the scathing 1992 cinematic rendering of Tim Robbins' political conscience that provided riveting and squirm-worthy entertainment thanks to razor sharp direction, a balanced and intelligent screenplay, and some serious star power committed to bringing this surprisingly realistic story to fruition.

Oscar winner Robbins wrote, directed, and starred in this biting satire about a folk singer who uses his popularity as a recording artist to launch a campaign for a seat in the United States senate. Shot in the form of a documentary, the film chronicles Bob trying to bring his folksy right-wing policies to the forefront of voters while trying to hide from a radical who has uncovered Roberts' possible involvement in an S&L scandal that could destroy Bob's shot at a senate seat.

Robbins really knocks it out of the park here and after what we've been through this year in politics, has suddenly become more timely than ever. The "mockumentary" is a sub genre of film that most associate with Christopher Guest, but Robbins takes it to a whole new, more realistic level here. And he actually does it in a completely fictional context without naming any names and protecting the innocent. As a matter of fact, I was amazed that Robbins' screenplay never utilizes the words "republican" or "democrat". Whether this was a way to spread blame equally for the political climate in 1992 or just a way to cover Robbins' ass, who knows for sure. Some might think the screenwriter is a little overprotective of its star, but that's for the individual viewer to decide.

Robbins' direction is a crucial element to the success of this film, featuring some brilliant camerawork, with Oscar-worthy use of the steady cam that keeps the viewer inside the campaign while simultaneously keeping the characters onscreen aware that they are in the middle of a documentary being shot by someone named Terry Manchester (Brian Murray). There are several moments behind the scenes where Bob is with his staff and we see them sneaking peeks at the camera that ring true, as well as several moments where staffers demand that the cameras stop rolling. The fact that there was only one moment in the film where Roberts asked them to turn the camera off was impressive.

Robbins also impresses with his musical talent, allowing his character to sing several songs that were also written by Robbins and his brother, including "Complain" , "Retake America", "I'm a Bleeding Heart", and "Wall Street Rap."

Even with all the hats he was wearing here, Robbins still manages to turn in a charismatic performance as the title character and has a solid supporting cast behind him. Alan Rickman and Ray Wise are superb as Robert' top staffers and James Spader, Peter Gallagher, Helen Hunt, and Robbins' real life girlfriend at the time, Susan Sarandon also appear as news anchors. There's also a kinetic turn from Giancarlo Esposito as the radical trying to bring Roberts down. And if you don't blink, you'll also catch glimpses of John Cusack, Kathleen Chalfant, Harry Lennix, and Jack Black along the way. Legendary writer Gore Vidal also impresses as Roberts' greasy opponent. Tim Robbins utilized solid skills as a filmmaker to bring his political voice to the screen.



I'll Cry Tomorrow
An explosive, Oscar-nominated performance by Susan Hayward makes the 1955 melodrama I'll Cry Tomorrow worth a look.

This alleged biopic of singer and Broadway star Lillian Roth opens with a glance at her childhood, a shy young girl pushed into show business by an aggressive stage mother (Jo Van Fleet) who has decided that her little girl is going to be a star whether she wants to. Lillian does become a star but her personal life is a mess, courtesy of alcoholism and some really miserable luck with men.

Director Daniel Mann and screenwriters Helen Deutsch and Jay Richard Kennedy have concocted what is allegedly a biography of a great movie star, but is really a highly stylized melodrama and commercial for Alcoholics Anonymous. This is another one of those biopics, like Funny Girl, which pretty much throws the facts aside for the sake of entertainment and on that level, this totally works, but if you're really interested in learning about the life of Lillian Roth, this is not the place to look.

However, if you're looking for a stylish, old-fashioned melodrama with a melodrama experts behind and in front of the camera, no need to look further. Mann's direction is a little heavy-handed and the horrors of alcoholism are driven home with a sledgehammer, but there are some pretty accurate messages about the disease that ring quite true. There's a scene in a hotel room where a drunken Lillian, unable to stop drinking, decides to jump out a window but can't do it. This is the core of what drives most alcoholics to seek help...to paraphrase Jerome Kern, they're "tired of livin' and scared of dyin."

Susan Hayward received her fourth Oscar nomination for her powerhouse performance in the starring role, a melodramatic tour-de-force that riveted this reviewer to the screen, despite Mann's overheated concept of alcoholism. Richard Conte was impressive as an abusive con man who Lillian marries and Eddie Albert scores as the man who helps Lillian get sober and this does bring up one minor nitpick with the film's depiction of AA: We learn that Eddie Albert's character, Bert, becomes Lillian's sponsor, but IRL AA, men only sponsor men and women only sponsor women, but I let it go. It's concept of alcoholism as a disease is over-the top, as is Alex North's music, but Hayward is divine and will keep you watching. And yes, Hayward does her own singing.
I just seen this last night, thought it was pretty great. Susan Hayward was a bit over the top at times but that only added to the fun. Her character reminded me of her role in Valley of the Dolls. I was surprised to learn she did her singing, pretty good too. Everyone was pretty good in this, the stand out for me was Jo Van Fleet. There were moments were Van Fleet really was insider her character.



Oh this movie is right up your alley, Citizen. glad you enjoyed it.
I'm on a Susan Hayward kick. The other night I watched her in Cecil B. DeMille's Reap the Wild Wind (1942) & The Forest Rangers (1942) which turned out to be surprisingly fun. Tonight I'm watching Susan in Smash-Up The Story of a Woman (1947)

Have you seen her in much else? Any recommendations?



I would also recommend My Foolish Heart, With a Song in My Heart, Adam had Four Sons, I Married a Witch, Ada, Stolen Hours, and of course, her Oscar winning performance in I Want to Live.



I would also recommend My Foolish Heart, With a Song in My Heart, Adam had Four Sons, I Married a Witch, Ada, Stolen Hours, and of course, her Oscar winning performance in I Want to Live.
Thanks!



The trick is not minding
I'm on a Susan Hayward kick. The other night I watched her in Cecil B. DeMille's Reap the Wild Wind (1942) & The Forest Rangers (1942) which turned out to be surprisingly fun. Tonight I'm watching Susan in Smash-Up The Story of a Woman (1947)

Have you seen her in much else? Any recommendations?
I liked Smash Up! When I watched it a few months ago. Decent performance.



The Bourne Supremacy
Jason Bourne returns for a second round of international cat and mouse in 2004's The Bourne Supremacy, where Jason's memory begins to return, putting him in even more danger than he was in The Bourne Identity.

As this sequel to the 2002 film opens, Jason (Matt Damon) and his girlfriend, Marie (Franka Portente), who bailed him out in the first film, are now living underground and always looking over their shoulder. Unfortunately, bits and pieces of his memory return at the same time the CIA is trying to cover up their mishandling of Jason's original mission.

Tony Gilroy's screenplay is overly complex, taking place at glamorous international locations that seem to change with every scene and requiring a scorecard to keep track of all these people planning to take out our hero. Not only do we have what appears to be two different factions of the CIA wanting to get Jason, but there's also a Russian assassin who has been paid handsomely to kill Bourne as well. The real basis of this sequel is revealed as the viewer learns that it's not so much what Bourne did on his bungled assignment that left him with amnesia at the end of the first film

What I loved that director Paul Greengrass (Flight 93)) did with this story is that he delivers the kind of action that is expected from a story like this, but does it in varying ways that keep the story fresh and exciting. We have a car chase through the streets of Berlin that's a real nail-biter, we also have a one on one battle between Jason and the Russian hitman that's just as exciting. It was also interesting watching Jason trying to adjust life being on the run. He doesn't see things as normal people see them, everyone and everything is a threat. Loved the scene near the beginning where Jason thinks he's being followed and explains to Maria, "It's the way he walks, the way he dresses...it just wrong."

Greengrass employs first rate production values to the film including Oscar-worthy film editing , cinematography, and sound. Matt Damon once again brings the dark and brooding Bourne to life and gets solid support from Brian Cox and Joan Allen as the cats in this elaborate cat and mouse adventure. Though the set-up of the sequel is kind of obvious, but we do get some closure as Jason Bourne actually learns his real name. Another sequel that stands up proudly to the original, followed by The Bourne Ultimatum.



Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman
A gutsy and stylish performance from Susan Hayward that earned the actress her first Oscar nomination for Best Actress is the anchor of 1947's Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman, a melodramatic look at the horrors of alcoholism that, despite a problematic screenplay, holds up a lot better than 1945's Best Picture, The Lost Weekend.

Hayward plays Angie Evans, a successful nightclub singer who has a whirlwind romance with a struggling singer/songwriter named Ken Conway. They marry and have a baby and Angie quietly settles into domesticity. Unfortunately, as Ken's career begins to take off, Angie feels like she's being left behind and finds her only solace in alcohol.

John Howard Larson's screenplay takes a much more realistic look at the disease of alcoholism than The Lost Weekend did. There are no scenes of Angie walking into liquor stores and just taking bottles or lying in her bedroom having hallucination of bats flying around the room. Her taste for alcohol is established in the opening scenes, but there's a gap in the story that doesn't makes sense. After she and Ken have their baby, Angie seems blissfully happy and has forgotten about the career she left behind. Then all of a sudden, she's jealous of Ken's success and drinking all the time, bewildering Ken, scaring his attractive assistant, Martha and neglecting her child. We never see how she went to blisfully happy to a miserable drunk.

Even though the screenplay never uses the words "alcoholism" or "alcoholic", a couple of effective messages about the disease do make their way into the story. A doctor does tell Angie that she can't get better until she admits that she has a problem. On the other hand, people keep telling Angie that she has to stop drinking if she wants to hold on to Ken and her baby. It's well-known that an alcoholic can only get better if he/she does it for themselves, not anyone else and that message does get a little lost here.

The problems with the screenplay are forgiven thanks to Hayward's superb performance in the starring role that helps the viewer forgive the fallacies in the screenplay. Lee Bowman was rather bland as Ken, but I did love Eddie Albert as Ken's songwriting partner, Steve, and the elegant Marsha Hunt as Martha, but after ten years of making movies, this is the one that put Hayward on the map and it is her performance that makes this one work. Hayward lost the Oscar to Loretta Young for The Farmer's Daughter, but according to the IMDB, Young admitted many years later that she voted for Hayward and it's easy to see why.



Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman



Lee Bowman was rather bland as Ken, but I did love Eddie Albert as Ken's songwriting partner, Steve, and the elegant Marsha Hunt as Martha, but after ten years of making movies, this is the one that put Hayward on the map...
Nice review and I love that still promo photo for the movie. I didn't care for Lee Bowman much either, but I thought Marsha Hunt was perfect as the other woman who's also misunderstood.



I don't know if Marsha Hunt's character was misunderstood...she admitted near the end of the movie that she did have feelings for Ken, but she never actually acted on them. she was only misunderstood by Angie.